A chronicle of my gaming adventures and misadventures with a little bit of everything occasionally tossed in. It covers Flames of War, Warhammer 40k and Fantasy battle, Disposable Heroes, Sky galleons of Mars, Chasepot and Needle Gun, The Sword and the Flame, Warhammer Ancients and many others.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Real Men Dig Chieftain Models!

Hi Kids, I'm here to tell you about my new love affair with Chieftain Models! They've been lurking in the dark corner of the Basement for about 5 years, in the same box as the 40K Orks for some reason. But an upcoming game requires them to be made combat ready, so I dug out the two 1/56 Centurions (actually Israeli "Shot" versions) I ordered from Crouchie all those long years ago and prepped them up for paint. These things are absolute beasts, I just love 'em! I haven't had this much fun building a tank in years! No, strike years, I mean ever! They are all metal, even the hull, turret and tracks are 100% metal. Damn things probably weigh two pounds. In fact, I might have to dig out the original packaging to see just how much they do weigh. (But that's 3 flights of stairs each way, so will have to wait for another blog.) This picture shows a slight correction being applied to one of the fenders which was damaged during shipping. Don't try this at home kids!!!! This is the only fig I've ever had that I actually had to use a hammer to straighten out a part! I'd like to see a Finecast (TM) fig one tenth this robust! Detail is excellent, minimal flash, and all sorts of detail parts; most of which I'll leave off since this thing is destined for the wargame table. It is a crying shame that Chieftain Models is no longer in production, most of their vehicles were sold off to assorted other manufacturers (Company B and Brigade perhaps?), and I'm not sure of the fate of their modern molds, but Crouchie, my hat is off to you. You are The Man!

Here we have a shot of the "secret weapon" I built and painted a couple months ago. It's actually a resin ACW ship from Old Glory (Merrimack Shipyard) I bought at one of the big cons last year, and I thought it'd be perfect for our upcoming "Kneecap Island" pulp adventure. The sailors are 25mm Copplestone or Pulp Figures, I don't remember which, the docks are from Recreational Conflict, and the two totem poles were picked up at the HMGS fleamarket a few years ago. Guess I need to flock their bases. Oh well. Maybe later.

Yeah, you guessed it, all the fixtures are added parts. Aircraft wings, a GW hatch, and plumbing bits all give it a pulpy look. At least I hope so! I'm still not sure if I should've put some kind of gun on the deck...